[184] In this year 1752 another Lord Mayor, Winterbottom, died of the gaol fever. Lord Campbell’s ‘Lives of Lord Chief Justices.’
[185] A full account of the ventilator from the pen of Dr. Hales is published in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ vol. xxii. p. 180 (1752), where also is the plan of the windmill which worked it, which plan I have introduced into this chapter. The various letters on the plan refer to the detailed description in the original.
[186] For full account of this see next chapter.
[187] Lord George Gordon died of it in the new Newgate in 1793.
[188] See next chapter.
[190] Dr. Dodd in his ‘Prison Thoughts’ animadverts strongly upon the evils of Newgate, but completely exonerates Mr. Akerman. “No man could do more,” says Dr. Dodd. “His attention is great, and his kindness and humanity to those in sickness or affliction peculiarly pleasing.”
[191] There is a brief account of Newgate about this period in the ‘Memoirs of Casanova,’ who saw the interior of the prison while awaiting bail for an assault. Casanova was committed in ball dress, and received with hisses, which increased to furious abuse when they found he did not answer their questions, being ignorant of English. He felt as if he was in one of the most horrible circles of Dante’s hell. He saw, “Des figures fauves, des regards de vipères, des sinistres sourires tous les caractères de l’envie de la rage, du désespoir; c’était un spectacle épouvantable.”—‘Mémoires,’ vi. 48.
[192] Some notion of the density of the prison population in Newgate in those times will be obtained by comparing it with modern ideas on this subject. The following figures give the acreage and average population of three comparatively new prisons.
| Prison | Acreage | Average prison population. | ||
| Warwick | 9A. | 3R. | 2P. | 300 |
| St. Albans | 4 | 2 | 1 | 100 |
| Lincoln | 16 | 0 | 15 | 180 |